Couldn't think what to snip, so I cut the lot. Any internet discussion group is full of enthusiasts about the topic, I like driving, all the guys on the driving groups are amazingly into driving, and yes, sometimes they have wish lists too!
I have an MZ50, it's my first Pentax, my last decent 35mm was a Minolta AL rangefinder that I learned to take pictures with. For me a camera is about the pictures, capturing the moment, not about features, bells and whistles. I need a lens, shutter and media that I can carry anywhere, so I have a flightcased MZ50, 100-300 sigma, 28mm 2.8 pentax and 35-80 pentax, flash, batteries, film, cleaning stuff and a lightweight, cheap and nasty tripod, in the boot of my car. It's small, light and very flexible. I also have a Yashica Microtec zoom 70 P&S, some of my favourite (if not best technically) shots have been taken with that camera over the last 8 years. I now want my P&S to be digital (as I've not printed a film for about a year now, my photography is as digital as it can be!) as it's the camera I use most and it's a pain having to scan and store all those negs. A 3.3MP digital P&S will replace it, and will be more than adequate. I don't want a Canon or Nikon DSLR. I want Pentax to make me one, my lenses are only cheap ones but I would rather use film than throw them away and buy new ones. Current DSLRs are bulky, Pentax have always made compact and lightweight cameras, when, not if, they make a DSLR it will be a typical pentax I'm sure, I'm also sure it'll be full frame, and good value. If they can't make a compact full frame DSLR at a good price now then they will wait until they can, and I will wait with them for a couple of years at least. Technology is a strange business, the high end gets higher and the low end gets cheaper, my 1.7 GHz PC bought this year cost less than the 233MHz one I bought five years ago, electronics get smaller and cheaper with popularity, I have few friends now who do not have some form of digital camera (my video camera for example is digital). I am convinced that in the next two years the high end digital SLR will be 20MP or more in a standard sized Nikon / Canon body, and the entry level SLR will be a 6-10MP in a similar sized body to our current MZ pentax / Dynax minolta with the bare essentials. Remember how much flash memory used to be? Remember how long camcorder batteries didn't last? Two years is a long time in technology, until then I'll keep developing and scanning. As for talking about it, if we didn't talk about, and pentax staff read this list, they might think "Well if the enthusiasts aren't interested we won't bother" I still await my optio 330GS...
